


Amnesia

by ToMyBetterHalf



Series: How Did You Two Meet? [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, Galra Keith (Voltron), Injured Lance (Voltron), Keith acts weird but it's because hes galran, M/M, Not A/B/O dynamics but Keith is a weird alien who has weird instincts, Not sex but it gets pretty steamy, Protective Keith (Voltron), hints at it though, keith gets jealous, klance, lance has amnesia, lance risks his life for keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-01 21:07:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16291838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToMyBetterHalf/pseuds/ToMyBetterHalf
Summary: After Lance saves Keith during a mission, he is injured. As a result, he ends up with amnesia. The only thing Lance can remember is Keith, and he's convinced that they were dating. Keith doesn't have it in him to break Lance's heart so he plays along.





	Amnesia

**Author's Note:**

> I think I accidentally wrote a bit too much but here is my one worded prompt which was just "amnesia." This isn't A/B/O dynamics but Keith's Galra alien instincts are similar to that of an Alphas.
> 
> WARNING: This doesn't go into full detail or have the whole scene but it does get a bit steamy and hints at sex.

Lance had done it again. 'It' being something stupid. Lance wasn't stupid per se, but it was often that his actions disagreed. But there was no use dwelling on it.

"When will he wake up?" Hunk asked nervously. The poor guy was extremely worried about his best friend.

They all were.

"A couple Vargas. Maybe a Quintent," Allura answered before laying a hand on Hunks shoulder, "he'll be fine, Hunk." She gave the rest of the Paladins a curt nod before padding off to the bridge with Coran.

"What happened anyway?" Shiro asked turning to Keith, he looked very stressed, as usual. He was pinching the bridge of his nose with his Galra hand, and his brows were furrowed in pain, probably from a headache. Keith thought about the amount of sugar coating necessary to prevent the leader from throwing a tantrum or having a breakdown.

"He saved my life."

It was true, and Keith did appreciate it. To an extent. He really wasn't worth saving. A part of him felt slightly pleased at the thought that Lance thought so. But another part was guilty and worried that when he woke, if he woke, that he would regret his actions. Technically though Keith wouldn't need saving if Lance hadn't disobeyed his orders. He closed his eyes, the memory leaving a familiar terror and pain in his chest.

* * *

_Lance leaned against the wall with his gun held tightly to his chest as they hid. The footsteps of the Galra sentry faded the further they traveled down the hall, but his robotic voice still rang through._

_"Heading down to the vault to check on the prisoners."_

_Lance's head whipped around to face Keith. "No, we can't. We don't have time, the explosives will go off in minutes," Keith said noticing the determined look on his partners face. Even with a bloody nose and face covered in scratches, Keith still couldn't help but find that hopeful expression adorable._

_"But Keith-"_

_"No, Lance."_

_A few seconds passed. Neither of them moved despite it being clear. They stared at each other. Lance's face was a blank expression, barring the indecisive look in his blue eyes._

_It wasn't like Keith didn't want to save them. He wasn't the bad guy, and he felt extremely guilty about it, but they were given strict orders. Place the bombs and get out of dodge. It would be impossible to successfully liberate the prisoners and manage to make it out alive. He just wanted Lance to be safe._

_But the spell was broken when a beautiful smile spread across the taller boys lips. One that Keith would normally blush at if not for his heart-shattering words._

_"Sorry, Mullet."_

_Then he bolted. Turning the corner and running in the opposite direction of their escape route._

_"LANCE!"_

_Keith didn't even spare a glance towards their lions and escape pods, and instead chased after his rogue companion._

_Keith was fast, but Lance was faster. There was no denying that, and the red paladin was panting by the time he reached the vault. Lance hadn't even thought to hide when a Galra sentry was patrolling and instead just shot at them as he ran. He was so reckless. He better still be alive so Keith could tear him a new one when their mission was over._

_The vault smelled and looked awful. Big purple doors with small windows with bars lined the walls. The vault was noisy sounds of coughing, shouting, and an occasional scream._

_Keith scanned the area before his eyes landed on Lance who was crouched over a dead Galra guard. "Lance! What are you doing?! We need to go! Now!" But the paladin didn't listen. "Aha!" He exclaimed before pulling a small metal rectangle looking object off the Galra's body._

_"Keith watch door, he may have called for reinforcements," Lance ordered before swiping the object on a red panel until it turned green. Keith rolled his eyes and scoffed but did as told. "Shh, we're here to help, we'll get you out," Lance whispered loudly to the frightened prisoners as he opened each cell._

_Compared to the amount of cells, there weren't as many prisoners as expected. The problem was that many of them had been tortured or injured during their captivity and provided to be a dead weight to the group. Lance was helping those having a difficult time on their own, while Keith arrived at the cell on the end of the vault. He inched closer to the door, hoping to get some courage in the next few seconds to open it._

_The sounds coming from behind the metal were alarming. Keith spared a glance to Lance, who was calming the group of people and making gestures with his hands as to where the pods were._

_The pods were originally used for cargo, mainly for the bombs, and Pidge's hopes of getting some Galran tech._

_Long story short, they should have enough room for the prisoners. Maybe not the tech though. Turning back to the door, Keith swiped the card against the panel. Hopefully, this door was larger just by coincidence._

_It wasn't though. As to be expected with Keith's fortune._

_"Keith?" Lance asked, a hint of worry laced in his tone. But he was frozen in front of the opening. It was mostly dark, but Keith could make out the outline of a huge body. "Shhh," he whispered, too lightly for Lance to hear, as he watched the slow rise and fall of the monster's body. It was sleeping._

_"Keith, hey, what's- Oh! It's a Yupper!" Lance announced loudly. Keith jumped when he placed a hand on his shoulder, peering over him to look inside. "Shh!" He yelled turning in the taller boys grip before smacking a hand over his mouth. But it was too late._

_The beast grumbled and stood to its full height. Keith could see its large protruding teeth, and its slim but sturdy claws. "Quiznak." But Lance was staring down at him curiously, his face a perfect picture of calm._

_"Itss jut ah yummper," Lance's voice was muffled, but Keith jerked his hand away at the moist feeling of salvia on it. "It's just a Yupper-" His voice broke on the last word as a loud growl echoed from the room._

_"Run!" Lance yelled even though most of the prisoners had already fled. Keith attempted to do as suggested but was soon throw across the room by what he assumed was a large paw._

_"Keith!"_

_He couldn't help a small groan as the sharp pain in his back intensified with each struggle to stand up. Raising his head he saw the Yupper, growling, lurking closer to him. But to his right, Lance was running towards him, his gun discarded on the ground. What a moron._

_"Lance! Go! The prisoners, the bombs!" He assumed Lance must have not heard him. The wind had been knocked out of him, resulting in him gasping and finding it very difficult to breathe. Lance continued to make his way over. As Keith said, he was fast. The paladin slides down next to Keith. "Hey, are you okay?" He took Keith's hand in his and slipped the other around the red paladins middle._

_"Keith..."_

_His voice was soft, but the aghast tone made Keith whip his head around to face him. "What is it?" He rasped out. The boy's face was slightly pale, and his mouth was agape in shock. Lance was looking behind Keith, not at the Yupper,  but at his back. The small of Keith's back felt sickly-warm, and every little movement sent a ripple of pain along his spine, leaving him breathless._

_"Uh, nothing," Lance assured, but the expression on his face said otherwise. Keith snorted which caused him to wince, Lance rolled his eyes._

_The moment was forgotten when they felt the familiar footsteps of the Yupper behind them. The creature was much larger than Keith remembered the first one they met being and much meaner._

_The way the Yupper made its way over to the pair was almost mockingly slow. Its steps were tauntingly delayed, but wide, giving it more coverage. It's jaw stretched open wide in a yawn, giving them a full view of its vast array of sharp teeth. Keith would have laughed if not for his impending death._

_A growl rumbled from the Yupper as Lance practically dragged Keith to the exit. "Lance, you need to leave! Jus-"_

_His protests were cut short when a loud boom erupted from the ship._

_"The bombs," Lance stated from where he rigidly stood next to Keith. A quick glance proved that the Yupper had also gone still, barring its ears that twisting around to find the source of the noise. Another loud boom ensued the sound of cracking as a large chunk of the metal from the ceiling fell. Keith stumbled backward on his ass, covering his face to avoid getting hit with debris. Next, to him, Lance coughed at the dust and material that swarmed the surrounding air. The Yupper was forgotten as another crisis was presented._

_"Keith! C'mon!" Lance yelled over the sound of bombs exploding and the Galran alarms blaring. The distance between them was large enough that coming back for him would be pointless. And honestly, Keith's whole body was practically limp with exhaustion. It seemed to hit rather quickly. His arms ached from the fighting, his legs from the running, and the rest of his body from being flung across the quiznaking room._

_He just wanted to take a nap._

_But of course, Lance wouldn't just go, no matter how many times Keith demanded he do so. "I'm coming," Keith mumbled to himself repeatedly as he attempted to get his wobbly legs to work._

_The next couple of seconds that passed by were still blurry in his memory. Lance was still yelling as he charged over to Keith, who had finally managed to focus enough to get a balanced stance. Keith heard a loud familiar growl before the taller boy rammed into his body with full force._

_Keith yelped as the pain in his back increased by tenfold. He flew backward before hitting the ground with a thud, finally coming to a stop after sliding on the smooth ground._

_"L-lance?!" Keith scanned the area once he recollected himself. Horror and dread rapidly building up inside of him as the seconds ticked by without a response. Finally, he located his target laying limp on the ground next to the wall. His body was twisted in a way that must have been uncomfortable, but he remained still._

_"Lance!" He called again, his voice cracking at the panic now taking over. Keith just succumbed to it as he limped over to the paladin._

_The room was filled with debris, and there were still distant sounds of yelling and booms. The alarms were still blasting, causing a familiar ache in the back of Keith's skull, and red lights were flashing instead of the normal purple. But all of that seemed to fall deaf on Keith's ears as he crashed on the ground next to Lance's limp body._

_"Lance?" He whispered softly, distress laced into his tone._

_No response._

_His hands were hesitant and gentle as he pulled the paladin's body close to his own, holding him knowing that Lance wouldn't remember._

_Somehow he could still feel the heat of his body through their armor. "You're gonna be okay," he reassured as he pulled the blue helmet off, his own discarded long ago. His head lolled back on Keith's arm, his brown hair, in dire need of a cut, fell away from his face._

_Keith leaned down and placed a small kiss on his forehead, before hugging him closer. Eyes pinched shut and nose twitching at where Lance's soft hair tickled his face, Keith sighed with relief as he felt Lance's soft exhale of breath on his neck._

_He just wished they were back on the castle, Lance laughing at something Pidge said while they all sat to eat Coran's nasty food goo._

_As if his wishes were answered, a familiar jolt of energy rushed through him, leaving him slightly tingly and restless. He could hear a loud rumbling, but he doubted it wasn't in his head. A feeling of safety washed over him, allowing him to slip into unconsciousness with Lance clutched tightly to his chest._

* * *

_The next thing Keith remembered clearly was being woken up in Red's cockpit, the rest of the paladins surrounding them._

_"_ _Keith? Are you guys okay?" Shiro asked uncertainty, hesitantly taking a step forward. "I'm fine but what about Lance," his own voice was small and worried as he glanced down at the boy in his arms. "Can I come over to check?" Shiro used the same reassuring peppy talk like he did when Keith was younger, the same tone he hated._

_Keith's eyes darted around the room at each paladin with confusion. They all were close but still far enough that they weren't crowding Lance, and if he wasn't mistaken they looked worried and... Scared?_

_"Uh, yeah, okay, but... Not all of you."_

_Shiro maintained eye contact as he carefully made his way over while gesturing for the other paladins to step back. Hunk had tears in his eyes, and his arms were pulled to his chest like he was flinching. Pidge stood in front of him, a hand out in a protective gesture, but she stared at Keith with wide almond-colored eyes. Both their expressions looked hurt, and Keith was very much aware it was caused by him. He just didn't know why. Then it hit him._

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for him to get hurt I swear. I tried to save him. I should have, It's all my fault. I'm sorry." He rambled when he realized why they were hurt, he failed to protect their best friend. "No, no, Keith it's not your fault," Shiro said laying a hand on his shoulder, the other paladins nodded. But Keith felt something inside him snap violently at the pressure on his shoulder. He pulled Lance's unconscious form closer to him as he glared at Shiro. An inhuman growl bubbled up from his throat and Shiro flinched, a twisted sense of pleasure made Keith calm down slightly._

_Lance was still breathing, but each exhale was getting softer and more tenuous. The black paladin seemed confused at first before his arm slipped away._

_"Keith, you need to calm down," Shiro said warningly, "we need to get Lance to a healing pod." Keith nodded despite the strong desire to shove the paladin away from them. He pushed down his instinct-driven anger and let Shiro carry Lance to the medical bay, but he won't admit to how he hovered close by._

* * *

Keith never left the medical bay.

Shiro had been the first to leave after Allura reassured him that Lance would be fine and that as the Black Paladin, and leader of Voltron, there were things that needed tending to. Then Pidge left after a couple days of complaining about sleeping on the floor. Hunk would pop in for a visit for a while, talking to Keith and bringing him clean clothes, but he never stayed long and barely gave Lance's pod a glance.

But Keith only left once after Shiro demanded he take a shower and get some decent sleep. It was awful, all Keith could think about was Lance, what he would think when he came back, and Keith wasn't there for him. If something happened to the pod and Keith could save him. Not to mention how restless and painful it was to just know that he wasn't near Lance.

That's why he ended sneaking back to the medical bay with armfuls of pillows and blankets. It still took hours of staring at the ceiling and cuddling with the pillows to finally slip into a fitful sleep, but it was easier than in his own cold bed.

* * *

Keith was exhausted, nauseous, and had a headache that hadn't gone away since the mission. He spent most of the two weeks crying into his nest of blankets and staring at Lance's pod. At this point, he was too tired to even bother leaving his spot on the floor, not even when Shiro offered to train with him the medical bay. He knew the other paladins were concerned, not about Lance, but for him. At first, he had felt too sick to eat, now it just seemed to require too much effort.

One day Keith was laying on his back on the floor in front of the pod, staring at Lance's upside down face. He'd taken to talking to the empty room, imagining that maybe Lance could hear him.

Today he was rambling to Lance's pod about random thoughts when it suddenly beeped at him.

He stumbled as he scrambled to his feet, almost face-planting on the floor. Keith reached up and placed his palm flat on the cold glass. He flinched as it fell and Lance stumbled out falling on top of him.

Somehow his body was still warm despite being frozen in a healing pod for weeks. Keith, however, was frozen as Lance slowly came to in his arms. His eyes fluttered open and stared at Keith with wide blue eyes. The look was.... weird, to say the least.

"K-Keith?"

His voice was hesitant and frightened, "what happened? Where am I?" His eyes darted around the room in confusion searching for something familiar. "Uh, we're in the castle?" Keith responded with his own confusion, trying not to blush at the way Lance's arms wrapped tight around him.

"The _castle?_ Why are we in a castle?!" Lance asked alarmed.

"It's a spaceshi-" Keith started but was interrupted when the door slid open to reveal the rest of the paladins.

"Lance!" Pidge cried running up to them, Hunk hot on her heels. Meanwhile, Lance looked even more disoriented and terrified. "Keith, who are these people?" Lance whispered to him, voice shaky and looking on the verge of tears.

Did Lance not... remember?

"Wait, guys!" Keith ordered, and their friends stopped just a few feet away from them. "What, Keith?" Pidge asked annoyed as she shifted excitedly from foot to foot, "we need to make sure he's okay."

"He doesn't remember you guys."

Keith winced at his own words, he didn't mean for them to come out so cold. "Remember them? I've never met them in my life," Lance chirped very unhelpfully as the paladins glared at Keith. "What do you mean he doesn't remember?" Hunk asked, his eyes darting to him then Lance and back. "Amnesia," Shiro answered, realization hitting him. Keith nodded, but the boy in his hold shoved away from him in alarm, " _amnesia!?_ "

"Lance, hey calm down."

"No, what's going on, Keith? I don't- I'm so confused! What happened? The-"

He paused in his ranting, his hand was waving around wildly as he squinted his eyes shut.

"I- I pushed out of the way! Wait, oh my god, Keith are you okay?!"

Keith snorted, but it turned into more of a choking sound as Lance rushed up to him and cupped his face intimately. Those beautiful blue eyes stared down at him with concern.

"Yes, yes I'm fine. I'm not the one that went into a coma," Keith said glaring at Lance pointedly, and he gasped in shock.

"I went into a coma?! For how long?"

"A couple weeks," Pidge spoke up, her annoyed expression had been exchanged for amusement. The midget was stifling a laugh behind her hand. Even Shiro looked amused as Lance hugged Keith tightly, "I'm sorry."

"You should be you moron. Next time don't go saving me," Keith managed to say behind his gritted teeth, hoping he looked calm and collected. Meanwhile, his skin burned and his insides were buzzing. Lance fucking McClain was hugging him. He must have really hit his head. "I know, I'm sorry. I just love you, and I promise I'll be careful," Lance whispered in his ear as he continued to hug him, but Keith was frozen with shock at his words. The other boy must have noticed because he pulled away, and stared down at Keith with a perplexed expression and small frown, "what? Have we never said that?"

"No," his reply was curt, his body going cold trying to adjust to the heat that burned his insides.

Did Lance just say he... _loved_ him?

Keith wanted to be happy. Why shouldn't he be? He'd had a crush on the oblivious boy since he first laid eyes on the cute cargo pilot at the garrison. Okay, maybe not for that long, but looking back now he realized just how adorable Lance had been.

"I'm so- No, Keith, actually I'm really not sorry. I do I love you, and I honestly can't remember much or how long we've been together, but I do feel that way," his voice sounded so confident that Keith almost missed the way it quivered. But he said it loudly that the rest of the paladins could hear, and they all simultaneously gasped.

"What, Lan-"

"I love you too," Keith blurted out, interrupting Shiro's correction. They all gasped again, which would have been funny if this wasn't an absolute cluster-fuck.

Lance's hands slipped from his shoulders down to his hips in one fluid motion. The touch was simple but yet it left Keith's insides fluttering and his skin burning. He subconsciously counted the seconds of this moment. He never wanted to leave the feeling of safety and contentedness that was Lance.

A fond smile was etched across the taller boys face, and Keith could see the relief and joy in his blue eyes as he leaned down. Surprisingly, Keith could feel himself responding. He reached up with his hands to cup Lance's cheek with one, and the other slide to the back of his neck, caressing the delicate flesh and thin hair there. The hands on his hips tightened when they were so close that Keith could feel Lance's breath tickling his face. It seemed to take too long until Keith leaned slightly on his toes and closed the distance between them. Lance was only slightly taller, just pointing that out.

Despite being in a healing pod for two weeks, Lance's lips were soft and warm. Their mouths were awkward at first against each other, then they seemed to be able to respond fine when the need seeped through all too quickly. He felt Lance's tongue on his lips, and Keith parted his own in greeting. The arms on his hips slid back and pulled so that their bodies were flush against each other. Lance lapped into his mouth, tongue curling and sliding against his own in need. Keith could feel his body vibrating and rubbing closer to the boy in front of him in a sort of hunger that he hadn't felt in a long time. He did feel the urgent need as the hot and heavy desire grew low in his stomach, but yet he felt ridiculously calm like all was right now. But this time it was different, with that being far from the weirdest thing. His could smell Lance. Smell his desire and joy, but he also smelled nice, comforting and like home, safe. But the moment was ruined when on a deep inhale he scented the other people in the room.

He shoved Lance away, both of them panting with lack of oxygen. He still couldn't help standing in front of the boy, some deep part of his mind screaming that he get in between him and other people.

"Gross," Pidge stated even though Hunk's hands were over her eyes, blocking her from their short make-out session. Shiro, on the other hand, gave Keith and Lance an odd expression. Keith knew it well. It was both very exasperated, with raised brows, and an encouraging, with amused (shit-eating if you asked Keith) grin. He'd given Keith that look countless time's throughout his life. Every time he did something that suggested growth but executed in an unusual way.

Keith sighed before turning to Lance, who looked stunned and dazed, which was weird because HE initiated the kiss. Not that Keith was complaining.

"Hey, are you okay? Do you need to go back into the pod?" He asked, awkwardly laying a hand on the boy's shoulders. Lance shook his head with his face scrunched up in distaste, "no, I hate those stupid pods." Keith snorted but struggled to calm his nerves that insisted Lance might still be unwell. Keith couldn't remember anything other than Lance being unconscious as a result of their, barely, successful mission, but apparently the Yupper had clawed at Lance. By the time they'd gotten him into a pod, his abdomen was drenched in sticky red blood. Keith had faced similar treatment with his back bleeding but only needed to spend a few hours in a pod.

"But," Lance said with a guilty smile, dragging Keith from his thoughts, "I am kinda hungry." He hadn't even realized how tense he'd become at just the memory until it slipped off his shoulders at Lance's subtle wish.

Keith slipped his hand into the taller boys, praying that it wasn't awkward and that his hand wasn't as sweaty as it felt. If it bothered him, Lance never said anything. He just sighed contently and followed as Keith pulled him to the castle's dining hall.

* * *

It seemed to kick in as Keith and Lance were eating the food goo in the kitchen. Lance stoving his face while chattering about as if he hadn't just been in a coma for weeks. He would have found it endearing if not so lost in thought.

Lance thought they were dating.

Lance _loved_ him.

The number of different emotions were drowning Keith, and he could feel an oncoming headache. He was confused and conflicted. He'd dreamed of this moment. But they weren't together.

Could a coma fake feelings though?

Lance had said he loved him, although he did later apologize claiming that he'd just been overwhelmed. Keith had just shut him up in ways he would not later admit to.

"You okay over there?"

Keith's eyes focused on the boy in front of him, who was staring expectedly over at Keith, brows arched curiously.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was just asking about how long we've been.... together."

He seemed to hesitate on the last part. Those blue eyes went from bright and friendly, to indifferent and calculating in a matter of seconds. "Well, um, I- How much do you remember?" Keith floundered for a second, attempting to hide a grimace as he took a bite of the food goo, hoping to provide a distraction. Lance seemed content with that answer as he provided his own.

"I don't really remember.... events, per se, but I do remember some things." Some sort of bashfulness came over the normally flirtatious blue paladin, his cheeks reddening as he averted his gaze. "What things?" Keith asked innocently, tilting his head slightly to display his curiousness. A glare and huff was the first response.

"I dunno, like having feelings for you, a-and," Lance seemed to have an unusual amount of time forming words, rubbing his neck persistently in a way that had to be painful.

"Hey, hey, It's okay," Keith consoled. A wave of protectiveness overwhelming him as he leaned over the table to slip his hand inside Lances. The boy seemed grateful, giving Keith a shaky smile.

"I just don't remember much." He looked like he had more to say, but Keith didn't want to push him.

* * *

Lance didn't remember much. It was infuriating. It felt like a small wall, more like a fucking fence, in his mind that blocked him from his memories. Like if he could just tap it, it would fall away. But he couldn't.

It was just out of his reach.

He felt especially bad that he couldn't remember much about Keith. He remembered lots of things, but they were dreamlike. Which wouldn't have stricken him as weird if he didn't notice the little blips of confusion in Keith's smile every time Lance talked to him or touched him.

The first night of being back was awkward.

Lance had wanted to sleep with Keith. He honestly didn't recognize the room that was supposedly his and was uncomfortable being alone in the huge.... castle. (Which still baffled him.) Keith, on the other hand, seemed to find his request strange but didn't decline.

The bed wasn't exactly enormous but was big enough for two people who didn't mind touching. Which Lance didn't mind, but Keith's discomfort seemed to be infectious.

"Are you ever going to sleep?" Lance asked flipping on his other side to face Keith, who was glaring at the ceiling. The boy arched an eyebrow, giving him a pointed look.

"It's difficult to sleep when I can feel how on edge you are," Lance snapped, flopping around until his back was to Keith.

Maybe Keith didn't want to sleep with him. Maybe he took up too much room or was too annoying.

"I'm sorry," Keith whispered as he tugged on Lance sleeve. It was a small gesture, and Lance felt hesitant before turning.

"I'm sorry, I'm just not used to it."

Lance stared at him in confusion before it dawned on him. Not only had Keith been sleeping on the floor in the medical bay, but he had also been alone. Lance wrapped his arms around Keith and hugged him close. It took the boy a second to relax before he returned the embrace.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Keith sighed, with what Lance hoped was relief, into his shoulder. "Goodnight, Lance."

When Lance woke up, he found himself tucked tight against Keith. He was far from surprised. Throughout the night when he'd shift to find a comfortable position or because he was hot, Keith would just pull him closer. He'd decided against fighting his arms after the fifth try, Keith was crazy strong in his sleep apparently. But now he found it difficult to go back to sleep.

"Keith," he whispered while attempting to pry the hands wrapped around his middle off. "No, sleep," Keith responded groggily, his voice thick with sleep.

"Keith, I have to get up." He found himself losing this fight already. One of Keith's hands had started to caress his stomach in an attempt to be soothing.

It was working.

"Just a little longer," his voice was no longer firm and instead was now soft and more of a plea. Lance sighed, but it sounded more amused than exasperated. He wiggled further into Keith's grip deciding that if he was gonna be awake, he was gonna get some snuggles. He ended falling back asleep rather quickly.

* * *

Lance decided to make a list. He honestly wasn't sure why, he could somewhat firmly remember the past week, just nothing before then. But it had happened once already.

So he kept a list.

This list did not include groceries or things to do like a normal list. This list was entirely dedicated to Keith. He kept in his notebook and it had a specific order.

For example, instead of it being a simple bullet list with a word or two, one page was one point. The list was just about things he'd noticed and the stories behind it. For example:

  * Keith is very expressive when reading
  * Snorts when laughing too hard
  * Keith is terrified of spiders
  * Extremely ticklish
  * Subjects everyone to documentaries
  * Draws extremely well
  * Needs to be kept warm (He is always cold).



The list was long and consisted of many small habits or traits. Lance felt ridiculous and stalkerish for writing it down, but he wanted something more tangible. It terrified him. Too many hours were dedicated to thinking about the fact that Lance could still be in a coma. Wonderful memories that were just a dreamlike illusion in his mind.

But he really hoped it wasn't a just a dream. He wanted Keith to be his reality forever.

* * *

Keith felt like he was going crazy. That would be the only explanation for his feelings. Sure, Keith felt weird and out of control all the time, but this was... different. Keith had been in love with Lance for a long time, but he'd never been so protective of him before. Concerned? Of course, but today he almost tore out Pidge's throat for punching him the shoulder. She didn't even hit him that hard! But that didn't stop him from glaring and immediately pulling Lance from the room with some pathetic excuse. It didn't go unnoticed by Lance.

"Dude, are you okay?" Lance's sapphire eyes were wide with confusion and concern. Keith suddenly felt bad for being overdramatic, "uh, yeah, I'm fine."

"No, you aren't. You've been on edge around everybody."

Keith dropped Lance's hand. "Sorry," he mumbled pathetically.

"No, it's almost adorable how you are when we're alone. I mean, you've been very cuddly lately. But everyone else, you're just so... short fused. It's concerning," Lance reassured, slipping his hand back into Keiths, intertwining their fingers, "do you want to go cuddle?" Keith was pretty sure it was teasing, but he really did just want to wrap Lance close and cradle him. Breathe in his scent of just _Lance_ , bathe in his warmth. So he nodded slowly and Lance sighed before dragging him off to Keith's- their room.

* * *

The first time Lance saw Keith actually snap was during a late night training session. The blue paladin was feeling behind, he'd spent weeks in a coma and Keith had barely let him do anything. He felt unfit and fat, after learning that this weird castle had a training deck he convinced Keith to take him, assuring him that he'd be right there with Lance just in case. They wandered through the empty halls to the training deck and Lance thought a lot about his short time staying here.

Everyone avoided his questions. Keith often claiming that everything is fine and Lance can trust him. Honestly, there _was_ a familiarity with this place. He often found himself knowing the directions to places he didn't remember existing or getting small flashes of memories. The dreamlike visions of Hunk and Pidge came back to him rather abruptly. Randomly getting a flash of moments at the Garrison when he finished an inside joke with Hunk, or when he and Pidge played video games.

Fewer memories were of Shiro, Allura, and Coran.

The castle was a weird thing. It didn't look like castles that you'd see in old movies or documentaries. Granted it was extremely large, but there were no elaborate stone carvings, or stones at all for that matter. Everything was smooth and simple. It looked like a mixture of a hospital and office. There was no smell to the castle other than cold and emptiness.

It was both comforting and alarming.

Finally, they reached the entrance as the door to the training room slid open. Both stopped short when Shiro's arm was activated and slicing off robots heads. "End simulation," he called when he spotted the pair in the doorway, "hey guys." Somewhere in the back of Lance's mind, he was shocked at how quickly he accepted the fact that the robots just deactivated on voice command. Or that, you know, there were robots at all.

Instead, Lance carefully watched Shiro's glowing purple arm as the paladin used a towel to wipe off the beads of sweat dripping from his damp hair. Sure, being stuck as prisoner and fighter for the Galras enjoyment was awful, but that arm looked pretty sweet. He'd never have to worry about losing a gun or sword, just whip out his arm and bitch slap somebody. _Wait, when did that happen?_

"Shiro," Keith greeted curtly through gritted teeth as he studied Lance. If the red paladin's tone was rude neither of them commented on it.

"Are you guys coming here to train? Do you want me to leave-"

"No, you can stay. It's fine with us," Lance said cheerily with a huge grin.

He was hoping Keith and Shiro could have some bonding time. Keith had been on edge with everybody but specifically Shiro. The blue paladin was concerned that he was going to get between their brotherly relationship.

Keith thought about how satisfying it would be to rip Shiro's other arm off.

 _No, wait,_ then he'd have another cool powerful arm.

Decapitation. _Yes, that would do_.

Although, it seemed a bit pathetic. He wanted to ruin Shiro, not put him out of his misery.

"You and Keith can go ahead and train, I'll do stretches and stuff. I'm still not used to working out," Lance said decidedly, and even huffed out a breath of air as if he was already worn out. Truthfully, the blue paladin was energetic and ready to knock some robots out with his rifle. Shiro nodded and lightly clapped Keith on the shoulder before making his way to the center of the room.

Minutes later, Lance was just sitting on the ground. His stretches long forgotten as he watched Keith and Shiro's captivating sparring. They'd slowly gotten more intense. Shiro on defense as Keith swiped this way and that. Both of them were drenched in sweat and panting.

Honestly, Lance would admit that he was definitely checking out Keith. The paladin was not wearing his armor but instead a black tank top and sporty shorts. His hair was pulled into a low ponytail that did little for the front hairs, as they still fell into his face.

But it was his dark expression and determined indigo eyes that had Lance squirming. He'd be concerned if he wasn't so turned on.

Keith used pure rage fill his moves, it didn't help when Shiro would block his punches. The black paladin was much stronger than Keith and knew him well enough to read his moves. That meant that Keith's only upper hand was the fact that Shiro had been training longer and was already worn down.

Keith glanced over at where Lance was outstretched on the floor pretending to touch his toes and idly glance at the fighting pair. While he was watching, Keith pulled up his leg and launched a kick into Shiro's side. The man groaned before quickly recollecting himself.

Keith risked a smile in Lance's direction as if to say "look at how I can fight! I can protect you!"

The night continued on like that until Shiro finally departed, significantly more tired and bruised. Keith was slightly bitter because he hadn't won many fights with Shiro and he had to step back when Lance wanted to fight with Shiro.

The latter was much harder to ignore. Mainly because Keith could smell Shiro's sweat on Lance. It drove something in his mind wild. So he saltily was a subtle asshole to Shiro and didn't even bother to feel guilty.

Keith honestly couldn't help it! Shiro's very existence was making him jumpy and snappy.

But finally, the guy left. And as soon as Shiro's figure retreated to the hallway, the door sliding shut behind him, Lance jumped Keith.

"You looked so cool out there, fighting," Lance purred as he straddled Keith, who was untying his boots on the small metal bench. "Really?" Keith promptly asked with a hint of disbelief as he stared up at Lance with a hopeful expression.

It was adorable.

Instead of replying, Lance leaned down to press his lips softly to Keiths. The red paladin's hands were on his waist instantly, forgetting the shoe laces as he pulled Lance impossibly closer. Lance broke apart before it became too heated but Keith was relentless. Lance moaned as Keith pressed kisses to his neck.

Keith felt like his whole body was scorching hot, but nothing compared to the heat in his stomach. It was put at bay as he inhaled a deep breath of Lance. The paladin smelled like hot cocoa and cinnamon. It was soothing. All Keith's rage and jealousy were torn down by just Lance. But of course, the calmness didn't last as Lance grind down on Keith. Both of them gasped at the friction.

They'd never been this intimate before. Sure they'd share a few kisses, but Keith had always made sure to back off before it got too intense. But this time he couldn't. The desire, contact, Lances beautiful body. It was too fucking much and he made it known.

"Okay, loverboy calm down," Lance gasped out as Keith lifted him completely off the bench. The paladin wrapped his legs around Keith to prevent falling. "How the fuck are you even lifti-" Keith pressed a bruising kiss to Lance's soft lips, shutting him up. If it bothered the boy he didn't say so.

* * *

Keith was insane. And Lance was insane for being into it. But what "it" is would be hard to explain. Keith was just acting very differently. He made Lance promise to never look at Shiro again or to go near Allura. Keith wouldn't explain, but would just wait until Lance promised. But he was also very sweet and caring and cuddly and... confusing. So damn confusing.

They'd managed to make it back to their room, Keith refusing to put Lance down. "I love you," Keith chanted as he shifted from kissing and sucking on Lance's neck, " _Mine._ " The blue paladin already knew he'd have to shamefully ask Coran for one of his scarves.

With the majority of their clothes forgotten, Keith seemed encouraged by the warm contact. God, they were going to wake up the whole castle.

* * *

_Lance. Lance. Lance. Lance._

It was the loud mantra in his mind as he kissed and touched the boy. But that feeling became lighter, and softer when everything was over. When the desire had died down.

Lance had his eyes closed as he smiled contently. He looked so peaceful, and Keith's heart shattered. How long had he loved this boy? How far had he fallen?

Keith leaned forward, crossing the mere inches between their faces, to pepper kisses over Lance's face. The paladin laughed returning the kiss to his lips. The kiss didn't deepen with a passion, but rather with a sort of tenderness that made Keith melt.

_Lance. Mine._

It was a foolish thought. Keith knew he didn't own Lance. He knew that. But he couldn't help the swarm of protectiveness whenever his gaze landed on the boy. The protectiveness was both for Lance and their little life. He would die for Lance in a heartbeat, but what if Lance was torn away from him? What if their little bubble would be popped? What if, what if.

"Mhhmm, stop thinking you moron." Keith smiled warmly, nuzzling Lance's neck. He sighed and shook his head with annoyance, but a deep inhale proved how he really felt. Keith could smell Lance's happiness, and he always wanted that scent to fill his sense. He loved that smell, but more importantly, he could smell himself all over Lance. Not just physically, but also mixed in with his own scent. Which made no sense.

Keith moved his kisses from Lance's face to his neck. "Ow!" Lance yelped when Keith pressed his lips to a bruised part of his neck, his face distorted in pain. "Sorry," Keith apologized, a wave of guilt and panic washed over him. "That spot is really tender for some reason, more than the others," he lightly touched his fingertips to a patch of skin that was close, but unbruised before grimacing.

"Sorry I-"

"Keith, It's fine. No regrets over here," Lance interrupted while glaring pointedly at Keith, who neither agreed or disagreed.

The only issue was Lance didn't understand why Keith was apologizing, not really. Keith hadn't just given Lance a hickey. Keith bit Lance's neck. It was in the heat of the moment, and Keith hadn't even realized until his mysterious fangs had already sunk into the delicate flesh. Lance didn't seem to remember or just never asked about it.

Keith pulled Lances form close, helping him relax. Keith leaned back down to lap at the tender wound, placing his tongue down firmly on the skin and sliding it across the scar. Instead of pulling away this time, Lance seemed to inch even closer and just melt into Keith's arm. An inhuman rumble bubbled from deep in Keith's chest and throat, the vibrations loud enough for even Lance to feel.

Keith never wanted to leave this moment. He was worried this was all some sort of sick dream. Keith didn't deserve this. Didn't deserve Lance. Another wave of guilt coursed through his chest, making him increase his hold on the blue paladin. His veins were running ice cold with fear. They had never been together before. Lance had few to no memories. The paladin claimed the majority of what he remembered was his family, early Garrison days, and Keith.

Lance said he remembered the most about Keith.

How he felt about him, how he'd always checked Keith out, and about all the times he wished to be paired as partners while at the Garrison. If only Keith had known, he would have acted sooner.

But now it was too late, he'd already lost Lance.

Soon the boy would regain his memory and feel betrayed by Keith. But until then, Keith could hold him close and pray that he would be forgiven. Keith knew he wouldn't be able to survive the rejection.

**Author's Note:**

> <3  
> I MIGHT write more. I procrastinate a lot but I do have a few ideas :)


End file.
